Facebook chief operating office Sheryl Sandberg has written a book to empower women in the workplace, hoping her role at the top of one of the biggest tech firms will inspire others to follow her example.

The self-help book Lean In: Women Work, and the Will to Lead, went on sale in the UK on Monday, accompanied by the launch of her LeanIn.org, a non-profit web community, aiming to offer women more encouragement in the workplace.

As a champion of women in IT and given the need to encourage more female participation in the technology sector, V3 was eager to see what tips Sandberg would have to offer, however the early reviews are disappointing.

In her book, Sandberg warns women of how they put themselves down through being too self-effacing, and tells women they need to ensure men do equal levels of housework at home if they are to make it in their career.

Sandberg also argues that before taking maternity leave, women must ‘lean in' to their work and increase the pace of what they're doing, rather than stepping back, as they frequently do, she claims.

However, Sandberg's book has been criticised for being out-of-touch with many working women and being patronising. For example, Sandberg makes reference to a time her daughter had head lice while at a business conference she took her to.

Obviously, many women would not be able to take their daughters to business conferences, or afford private nannies - let alone private jets,

It was seen as an affront to working women, many of whom cannot take their babies to work like Mayer, or build private nurseries next to their offices.

Clearly, although high-powered women such as Mayer and Sandberg are the sort of executives the IT industry should be using as examples of what can be achieved, perhaps once they reach the top it's easy to forget the daily realities facing the majority of workers out there.